The Nets welcome their role as favorites as the new season approaches, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn was expected to win the title last season after acquiring James Harden to go with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but injuries made it rare that all three were on the court at the same time. With a deeper bench to to back up the Big Three, the Nets are honest about what they hope to accomplish.
“Our goal is to be the last team standing,” general manager Sean Marks said. “There’s probably, six, eight, 10 teams that have that same similar goal, and a realistic one. For us it’s about owning that and not shying away from it and doing everything we possibly can … to try and accomplish that. We’ve also got to take into account that it’s a long season. Anything can happen, as we’ve seen over the course of last year.”
Marks has been hoping to negotiate extensions with all three stars to give the team a championship window that will last for several years. He reached a four-year deal with Durant last month and hopes to have similar arrangements soon with Harden and Irving.
“We’re looking forward to sitting down with them over the course of the next week, two weeks, and furthering those discussions,” Marks said. “Those guys know exactly how we feel, and they’ve been vocal about wanting to be part of this and build this together. We’ve got an opportunity to hopefully build something special here for the foreseeable future. … They want to collaborate, they want to come here together, they want to build this together.”
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